1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention, in general, relates to article holders and, specifically, to eyeglass holders and, more specifically, to eyeglass holders which are mountable on a support surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Holders have long been used to mount a variety of articles in a convenient location on a support surface, such as a tabletop, wall, etc. A number of holders have been devised specifically for mounting eyeglasses, when not stored in the eyeglass storage case, in a readily accessible location, such as on a table or desktop or in a vehicle, such as on the dashboard or visor of an automobile.
Due to vibrations generated by movement of such vehicles, eyeglass holders designed for use in such environments must be designed to securely hold the eyeglasses in place to prevent their movement and possible damage. At the same time, such holders must permit easy insertion and removal of the eyeglasses to and from the holder.
Unless such eyeglass holders are integrally designed into the vehicle structure, such as in conjunction with a map or dome light housing mounted within the vehicle, suitable mounting means must be provided to attach the holder to a support surface within the vehicle. Such mounting means have included suction cups, clips and the penetrable fastener arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,748, for an ARTICLE HOLDER, filed in the name of Allan McCarty, the inventor of the eyeglass holder of the present invention.
Another design criteria for holders mountable within the interior of the vehicles is that such holders must retain the articles in as small a space as possible due to the minimal amount of interior space available in today's vehicles. Also, such holders must retain the articles in a shape or location which does not interfere with the vision of the occupants of the vehicle.
Previously designed eyeglass holders specifically configured for use in vehicles have lacked one or more of these design features, such as easy mounting to a vehicle support surface, secure retention of the eyeglasses during movement of the vehicle and/or allowing easy insertion or removal of the eyeglass holders to and from the holder.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide an article holder specifically configured for holding eyeglasses which overcomes the problems encountered with previously devised article holders, especially vehicle mounted eyeglass holders. It would also be desirable to provide an eyeglass holder which securely retains a pair of eyeglasses in a fixed position during operation of the vehicle. It would also be desirable to provide an eyeglass holder which enables easy insertion and removal of the eyeglasses to and from the holder. It would also be desirable to provide an eyeglass holder which is easily mounted on a support surface within the interior of a vehicle. Finally, it would be desirable to provide an eyeglass holder which is easily and removably mountable on a support surface within a vehicle.